Chhattisgarh to procure paddy at MSP, compensate farmers separately

Move follows Centre's refusal to buy grain from states paying more than minimum support price; state govt had purchased paddy at Rs 2,500 a quintal last year

The Chhattisgarh government has decided to procure paddy at the minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the Centre, as the latter has refused to buy the grain for the central pool from states paying more.

The Congress-led government has announced that it would pay Rs 2,500 for a quintal of paddy to farmers as promised in the election manifesto in 2018. In the kharif marketing season 2018-19, it had indeed paid Rs 2,500 and sought Centre’s permission to continue with that price in the 2019-20 season. The permission was required as the Centre had allegedly refused to buy paddy for the